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Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 17

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

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yajante saattvikaa devaanyaksharakshaamsi raajasaahaa |
pretaanbhootaganaamshchaanye yajante taamasaa janaahaa || 4 ||
 
Saatvic individuals worship deities, raajasic individuals worship the yakshas and the raakshasas, others, taamasic individuals, the pretas and band of bhootas.
 
yajante : worship
saattvikaa : saatvic individuals
devaan : deities
yaksharakshaamsi : yakshas and raakshasas
raajasaahaa : raajasic individuals
pretaan : pretas
bhootaganaam : band of bhootas
cha : and
anye : others
yajante : worship
taamasaa : taamasic
janaahaa : individuals
 
Shri Krishna says that people who have faith can be placed in three categories. Those that worship deities such as Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva and so on are saatvic. Those that worship materialistic spirits or yakshas such as Kubera the lord of wealth are raajasic. Those that worship ghosts and demons are taamasic. Hearing this, we may say that we only worship deities. We never worship anything else. Therefore, we may conclude that we are highly saatvic individuals.
 
But as we have seen in karma yoga, the attitude with which we perform an action is equally important as the action itself. Imagine that three people visit the same temple at the same time and pray to the same deity. One person may pray because he wants his daughter to get married. One may pray to knock off his business competitor. Another may pray so that he attains liberation in this life. Outwardly, they may seem to be doing the same action, but there is a world of difference in their attitude. This difference in attitude is symbolically conveyed in the shloka using terms such as ghosts and demons.
 
So, analyzing our actions is not as easy as observing what we do. We also need to note our attitude behind our actions. As we saw earlier, our nature or svabhaava determines our attitude and our actions. To uncover the texture of our faith, we first need to uncover our attitudes and motivations, which requires a high degree of awareness. To get better and doing so, Shri Krishna covers a gamut of actions in this chapter so that we can practice observing our attitude as well as our actions, observe what we do and why we do it.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 16

11 Thursday Apr 2013

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anekachittavibhraantaa mohajaalasamaavritaahaa |
prasaktaahaa kaamabhogeshu patanti narakeshuchau || 16 ||
 
Bewildered by innumerable fancies, trapped in the web of delusion, addicted to desires and enjoyments, they descend into a foul hell.
 
anekaha : innumerable
vibhraantaaha : bewildered
chitta : fancies
mohajaala : web of delusion
samaavritaahaa : trapped
prasaktaahaa : addicted
kaamabhogeshu : desires and enjoyments
patanti : they descend
narake : into hell
ashuchau : foul
 
Over 9 percent of the population in western countries is addicted to drugs. Drug addiction begins when a person has some problem, discomfort or sorrow, such as a teenager finding it difficult to fit it or an adult losing his job. Using drugs or alcohol appears to solve the problem, so he uses them repeatedly. At this point, his body gets habituated to the drugs or alcohol and consequently shuts down all logic and reason. The person has become an addict. His sole aim in life is to do whatever it takes to satisfy his cravings.
 
Shri Krishna summarizes the lifecycle of a person with devilish tendencies, which looks worryingly similar to that of a drug addict. The person in question has an underlying sense of incompleteness or sorrow. Fulfilling a selfish desire, no matter how insignificant, gives him a temporary burst of joy. He wants to repeat this sensation, he wants more of it, and thus becomes addicted to desires and enjoyments. The more he does so, the more power he gives to his emotional mind, and takes power from his reasoning and intellect. He is trapped in the web of delusion. All he can think about now is more and more desires to fulfill, and the means to fulfill them.
 
Whether or not a drug addict or a highly materialistic person literally falls into hell is a different story. But a life of addiction, a life where inert substances make us dance to their tune, a life where there is no higher aim or goal, and most importantly, a life where the intellect has taken a backseat, is no different than any hell with fire and brimstone in it.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 16

08 Monday Apr 2013

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idamadya maya labdhamimam praapsye manoratham |
idamasteedamapi me bhavishyati punardhanam || 13 ||
 
This has been gained by me now, these wishes I shall fulfill. This is mine, and this wealth shall be mine later.
 
idam : this
adya : now
maya : I
labdham : gained
imam : these
praapsye : fulfill
manoratham : wishes
idam : this
asti : is
idam : this
api : also
me : mine
bhavishyati : will be
punaha : later
dhanam : wealth
 
In India, when a young boy gets the news that he has gained admission in the engineering college of his choice, a desire automatically pops up in his mind. Once I get through my gruelling 4 year engineering course, I will be happy. As the 4 years come to a close, another desire comes in. I need to get into a good masters program in the US. When that happens, he feels that he will he happy when he gets a US visa. Once he arrives in the US, he wants a green card. Then he wants a wife, a big house, car and so on. Each time he thinks he will be happy, another desire is waiting in line to be fulfilled.
 
Shri Krishna wants us to examine our own outlook and find out the level of materialism in it. So in this shloka and the following two shlokas, he uses the first person to drive this point home. Here, he wants us to inquire into what we think is our ultimate goal, our destination, our objective in life. Most of us will come to a similar conclusion that it is accumulation of wealth so that we can take care of our material desires as well as those of our family.
 
But this line of thinking has a flaw in it. Desires are bahushaakha, they multiply infinitely, as we have seen in earlier chapters. Each desire contains the seed of several other desires. If any of those desires is unfulfilled, we invite stress, tension and anxiety into our lives. Now it does not mean that we should not harbour any desires. It just means that we need to apply some system, some framework to ensure that desires are managed and do not get out of hand.
 
The four stage aashrama system (brahmachaari, grihastha, vaanaprastha and sanyaasi) prescribes the duties of an individual based on their stage in life. When duties are given importance, desires automatically manage themselves. For instance, if one is a householder, then one focuses on what is the essential set of desires for fulfilling one’s duties, rather than deriving joy out of adding more and more desires. And even if some desires are unfulfilled, they do not agitate the mind because the goal is the duty, not the desire.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 14

07 Thursday Feb 2013

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idam jnyaanamupaashritya mama saadharmyamagataahaa |
sargepi nopajaayante pralaye na vyathanti cha || 2 ||
 
Those who have taken refuge in this knowledge, and have attained identity with me, are not born even during creation, and not afflicted during dissolution.
 
idam : this
jnyaanam : knowledge
upaashritya : taken refuge
mama : my
saadharmyam : identity
aagataahaa : attained
sarge : creation
api : even
na : not
upajaayante : born
pralaye : dissolution
na : not
vyathanti : afflicted
cha : and
 
Actors who work in the daily soap opera world lead interested lives. If an actor is selected to play a part in a well-established and long running soap, they are overjoyed since their career has just skyrocketed. But once the actor is selected, they are afraid when they read each day’s script, since their role can be killed off at any time by the director. The director and actor have two different visions. The director is concerned with moving the story forward, whereas the actor is concerned with preserving his role.
 
Now, if we identify with the various roles or the various parts that we play each day, we will face a fate similar to that of the actor. We experience birth and death every day, every minute, throughout our lives. When we get a new job, for instance, a new “senior manager of marketing” is born. When we lose that job, that senior manager “dies”. If a marriage happens in the family, several new “in-laws” are born. If something goes wrong in that marriage, all those in-laws “die”. If something makes us angry, an angry man is born, and will die in a short while once the anger dissipates. Birth and death are part and parcel of Prakriti’s functioning.
 
Shri Krishna urges us to identify with Ishvara so that we are not disturbed or agitated when any kind of birth or death, even that of our own body, occurs. If the actor has the same vision as the director, he will take the end of his role in good stead and go on to do a wonderful job in his next assignment. If we have removed our ignorance through knowledge, if we have realized our true nature as identical to that of Ishvara, we will see things from Ishvara’s perspective and stop identifying with the ups and downs experienced by our body.
 
How exactly does this creation, this birth take place? Shri Krishna explains next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 13

02 Saturday Feb 2013

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yathaa sarvagatam saukshmyaadaakaasham nopalipyate |
sarvatraavasthito dehe tathaatmaa nopalipyate || 32 ||
 
Just as all-pervading space, being subtle, is not tainted, so is the self, situated everywhere in any body, not tainted.
 
yathaa : just as
sarvagatam : all pervading
saukshmyaat : being subtle
aakaasham : space
na : not
upalipyate : tainted
sarvatra : everywhere
avasthitaha : situated
dehe : body
tathaa : so
aatmaa : self
na : not
upalipyate : tainted
 
Many scriptures, including the Srimad Bhagavatam, describe the creation of the five great elements. Space was created first, followed by air, fire, water and then earth, each more tangible and visible than the one preceding it. Space, therefore, is the subtlest of elements. Its main property is indivisibility. We may put up walls and differentiate “my room” from “your room”, but the wall does not actually divide space at all. The wall is an upaadhi, something that mentally limits space, but cannot ever limit space in reality.
 
Another property of space that it is unaffected by whatever it contains. You can throw dust, water, glue, perfume, odour, anything at all into space, yet it remains unaffected. The air in a room may get affected by perfume or odour, not space. But more fundamentally, space provides existence to everything. Without space, no object can ever exist.
 
Shri Krishna says that the self is similar to space in these aspects. Like space is as though divided into rooms, the self is one but appears as though residing differently in different bodies. Like space never gets tainted by whatever is thrown at it, the self never gets impacted by the results, reactions, experiences and consequences of any action. All actions and reactions stay in the realm of Prakriti. And when we say statements like “this pot is round”, we should note that we cannot use the word “is” without realizing that the “is” is the “sat” or existence aspect of the self.
 
How should we bring this teaching into our life? Ultimately, all of us are craving for independence of one form or the other. For instance, the incessant drive to earn more wealth is towards gaining financial independence. Shri Krishna says that once we know that the self in us, the “I” in us is totally unaffected by any reaction or experience of the world, we will gain the highest and utmost level of independence, which is moksha or liberation. We just have to work at removing the ignorance of our true nature, which can only happen if we disassociate from Prakriti and associate with Ishvara.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 13

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

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prakityaiva cha karmaani kriyamaanaani sarvashaha |
yaha pashyati tathaatmaanamakartaaram sa pashyati || 29 ||
 
One who sees all actions as performed by Prakriti alone, and the self as actionless, he sees (clearly).
 
prakityaa : by Prakriti
eva : alone
cha : and
karmaani : actions
kriyamaanaani : performed
sarvashaha : all
yaha : one who
pashyati : sees
tathaa : and
aatmaanam : self
akartaaram : actionless
saha : he
pashyati : sees
 
Imagine that a toddler sees a phone for the first time. He is fascinated each time it rings, and
mistakenly thinks that by raising his hand, he makes the phone ring. But, if an adult has a never-ending fascination with a phone ringing, or has a mistaken notion about why it rings, we will think that there is something wrong with him. If an adult is overly fascinated by machines, it is because he lets the three gunaas of Prakriti still entice him, attract him. In general, once we know how a machine works, we are not overly fascinated or concerned with it.
 
Shri Krishna says that one who has truly assimilated the teaching of the Gita knows that actions, reactions, emotions, thought, logic, all these happen in the realm of Prakriti. Just like we lose fascination for machines once we know how they work, we should gradually stop being fascinated by Prakriti which is nothing but a machine that belongs to Ishvara. If this understanding seeps in, the shocks of world that we face daily will slowly lose their ability to shake us. We will perform our duties with our full attention and dedication so that we can exhaust our selfish desires, but leave the reactions and results to Ishvara because it is all happening in his Prakriti, his machine.
 
How do we go about doing this? The path to reduce our fascination with Prakriti is to increase our fascination with Ishvara. We do this by hearing stories of Ishvara, by attending satsanga, by associating with people who are devotees of Ishvara. The Gita itself contains chapters on the glory of Ishvara’s vibhootis, which can be read as daily meditations. Eventually, we begin to see the entire universe as part of Ishvara’s vishvaroopa, his universal form.
 
Now, even if we develop detachment towards the actions of Prakriti, our senses still get fascinated by variety, colour, form, diversity created by it. How do we deal with this aspect of Prakriti? Shri Krishna covers this next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 13

19 Saturday Jan 2013

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iti kshetram tathaa jnyaanam jneyam choktam samaasataha |
madbhakta etadvijnyaaya madbhaavaayopapadyate || 18 ||
 
In this manner, the field, as well as knowledge, and that which is to be known, has been described in brief. By understanding this, my devotee becomes qualified to attain my state.
 
iti : in this manner
kshetram : the field
tathaa : as well as
jnyaanam : knowledge
jneyam : which is to be known
cha : and
uktam : has been described
samaasataha : in brief
madbhaktaha : my devotee
etat : this
vijnyaaya : understanding
madbhaavaaya : my state
upapadyate : qualified
 
Shri Krishna concludes the current topic in this shloka. He spoke about “kshetra”, the field, in shlokas five and six. The field comprises twenty four aspects which are the building blocks of the universe. This includes the five great elements, the intellect and others. The field also comprises seven modifications by which the individual comes into contact with the world. These include desire, hatred and others. The field works like a machine, but is devoid of awareness in itself and is inert. It need to borrow awareness from some other source. This source is the eternal essence, it is “jneyam”, that which is to be known. The field acts as an upaadhi, something which as though limits and conditions the eternal essence.
 
If we are attracted by the dance of an ocean’s waves, we will never be able to appreciate the grandeur and beauty of the entire ocean, because our attention will be on the waves which are upaadhis that as though limit our understanding of the ocean. Similarly, if we need to understand the eternal essence, we have to learn how to gradually minimize the impact of the upaadhis of the field, and shift our attention to the eternal essence. “Jnyaanam”, the means of knowledge that enables us to mentally remove these upaadhis, is elaborated in shlokas seven to eleven.
 
Once we have learnt how to mentally remove upaadhis, we are ready to understand the eternal essence. From shlokas twelve to seventeen, Shri Krishna uses paradoxes and contradictions to explain the nature of the eternal essence. Our intellect is a product of the field, and will never grasp what the eternal essence is. Paradoxical statements like “it is near, yet it is far” are used so that our intellect doesn’t mistakenly turn the eternal essence into yet another concept.
 
Shri Krishna says that those who have inquired into the eternal essence in the manner prescribed above are qualified to attain the state of Ishvara, which is liberation. But this state cannot be attained unless we become devotees of Ishvara. A devotee means one who knows that whatever he sees, hears or touches is nothing but Ishvara, and that Ishvara is residing in him as his self. Only one who has such a firm conviction through meditation that everything, including himself, is ultimately Ishvara, will attain liberation.
 
Now, does all this explanation help me understand what ultimately causes me to experience sorrow in my life? In the next shloka, Shri Krishna begins a new topic to explain this issue in detail.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 12

13 Thursday Dec 2012

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sanniyamyendriyagraamam sarvatra samabuddhayaha |
te praapnuvanti maameva sarvabhootahite rataahaa || 4 ||
 
Having restrained all the senses, keeping a balanced intellect everywhere, revelling in the welfare of all beings, they attain me alone.
 
sanniyamya : having restrained
indriyagraamam : all the senses
sarvatra : everywhere
samabuddhayaha : balanced intellect
te : they
praapnuvanti: attain
maam : me
eva : alone
sarvabhootahite : welfare of all beings
rataahaa : revel
 
Imagine that our parents have asked us to come to their house. They are hosting an event and need our help. What will our attitude towards our assignment be? We will not hesitate to play the role of a cook, a waiter, a driver, a handyman, a dishwasher and so on. We will do whatever it takes to make that event a success. The well-being of all the guests will become our primary goal. We will set aside any personal differences with any guests because we are representing our parents at that event. We do all of this because we have a sense of oneness with our parents.
 
The devotee who worships the imperishable and unmanifest Ishvara has the same attitude. Just like we do not consider our parents as somebody distinct from us, the devotee does not consider Ishvara as separate from him. When there is no separation, there is no expectation of asking for anything or receiving anything. You only ask and receive when you consider someone different from you. We would never think of asking permission for every little thing from parents at that event, because it would be silly to do so.
 
Furthermore, such a devotee loses all sense of selfishness. He revels in the welfare of everyone in this world, “sarva bhoota hite rataahaa”. Nothing ever destabilizes his mind or his intellect, because he sees himself as one with everything. His senses have stopped harbouring likes and dislikes, because they no longer cut up the world into “good” or “bad”. He has very naturally “merged” into Ishvara, which is the final goal of devotion or bhakti. Shri Krishna echoes this point by saying “te praapnuvanti maam eva”, they attain me alone.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 52, Chapter 11

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

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Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
sudurdarshamidam roopam drishtvaanasi yanmama |
devaa apyasya roopasya nityam darshanakaankshinaha || 52 ||
 
Shree Bhagavaan said:
It is extremely rare (for anyone) to see that form of mine that you have just seen. Even the gods eternally long to see this form.
 
sudurdarsham: extremely rare to see
idam : this
roopam : form
drishtvaan : seen
asi : you have
yat : that
mama : mine
devaaha : gods
api : even
asya : this
roopasya : form
nityam : eternally
darshanakaankshinaha : long to see
 
The Gita uses a lot of the Katha Upanishad for its teachings. In that Upanishad, the young boy Nachiketa approaches the lord of death Yama for spiritual instruction. His most powerful question to Yama is : what happens to the soul after death. Yama tries to distract Nachiketa with boons of wealth and power, but fails. Eventually he responds : “Nachikata, even the gods are even anxious to know the answer to this question, and have never been able to figure this out”.
 
The same language is used by Shri Krishna in this shloka. He says that the gods have desired to see Ishvara’s cosmic form since eternity, but have not been able to do so. It is “sudurdarsham”, extremely difficult and rare to see, it is next to impossible. They may have seen Lord Naarayana in his four-armed form, but not the universal cosmic vision seen by Arjuna. And they will probably not see it in their lifetime.
 
Why is it the case the the gods cannot see this vision? Let’s investigate the nature of gods. They may be more powerful than humans, but they are subject to the three gunaas like every other aspect of creation. Which means that they also are impelled by selfish desires. Even Indra, the king of the gods, starts plotting to remove anyone who has an eye on his throne. So what Shri Krishna means here is that humans, gods, demons, anyone who is part of this creation, will never get to see this cosmic form unless they have a specific quality. Shri Krishna will give a detailed answer to this question soon.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 35, Chapter 10

05 Friday Oct 2012

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brihatsaama tathaa saamnaa gaayatraa chandasaamaham |
maasaanaam margasheershohamritoonaam kusumaakaraha || 35 ||
 
Among the Saamas I am Brihat-saama, also, among the poetic metres I am Gaayatri. Among the months I am Maargasheersha, and among the seasons I am spring.
 
brihatsaama : Brihat-saama
tathaa : also
saamnaa : among the Saamas
gaayatraa : Gaayatri
chandasaam : among the lyrical metres
aham : I am
maasaanaam : among the months
margasheershaha : Maargasheersha
aham : I am
ritoonaam : among the seasons
kusumaakaraha : spring
 
Previously, we came across the Saama Veda as one of Ishvara’s manifestations. Within the Saama Veda, there is a chant called the Brihat-Saama mantra, an invocation that is sung for praising Lord Indra. Since it is Brihat, the most potent and powerful among the Saama Veda mantras, Shri Krishna terms it as a foremost expression of Ishvara.
 
In prior chapters of the, we have seen the use of the poetic metre as a tool to emphasize the change in topic. Let us delve deeper into this. The Gita is composed in the “Anushtup chandas” . Chandas means metre. It is made up of 4 lines or padas, each comprising 8 syllables. For example, let us see a famous shloka: “ya-da-ya-da-hi-dharm-as-ya”. It contains 8 syllables. There are 3 more lines like this. So we get 8 times 4 equals 32 syllables.
 
The Gaayatri mantra is considered to be the root and essence of all Vedic mantras. It is composed in a metre of the same name. The Gaayatri metre is made up of 4 lines each comprising 6 syllables. The first line is “tat-sa-vi-tur-vareni-yam”. Therefore the Gaayatri mantra as well as the associated metre, foremost among all the mantras, are Ishvara’s expression.
 
Next, Shri Krishna elaborates upon weather and seasons. He says that among all the months, Ishvara is the month of Maargasheersha of the Indian calendar. It corresponds to the November-December time period and culminates in the festival of Makara Sankranti. He then goes on to say that among the seasons, Ishvara is Kusumaakara, which refers to spring, the flower-bearing season. Both Margasheersha and Kusumaakara are not too hot and not too cold. They are conducive to generating serenity in the mind, and that is why they are considered foremost expressions of Ishvara.